Speaking
Speaking with Dr. Steph
Money can move differently.
Dr. Stephanie L. Gripne — known as Dr. Steph — speaks to families, foundations, companies, boards, civic leaders, women’s networks, community foundations, and impact investing audiences about how capital can become a tool for community resilience, repair, and possibility.
Her talks help people understand impact investing, philanthropy, donor-advised funds, catalytic capital, community capital, and systems change in language that is practical, human, and actionable.
Dr. Steph does not speak in jargon. She helps audiences see what is possible — and what they can do next.
Why Invite Dr. Steph?
Most people know money can do more.
But they do not always know where to start.
Dr. Steph helps audiences move from curiosity to clarity. Her talks are designed for people who want to align money with values, activate more of their assets, support communities, and understand the tools available beyond traditional philanthropy or conventional investing.
She brings together the worlds of finance, philanthropy, ecology, community development, leadership, and systems change.
Her work is especially useful for audiences asking:
What is impact investing?
How can donor-advised funds do more?
What is community capital?
What does it mean to move money differently?
How can families, foundations, companies, and communities use capital more creatively?
How do we move from good intentions to real action?
Speaking Topics
Money Can Move Differently
A signature keynote on how philanthropy, investing, business, and community leadership can work together to move capital from intention to action.
This talk introduces audiences to the core ideas of impact investing, community capital, catalytic capital, donor-advised funds, and Full Spectrum Capital in a way that is clear, energizing, and deeply human.
Best for: conferences, donor gatherings, foundation events, family office audiences, women’s networks, civic leadership events, and impact investing convenings.
Impact Investing 101
A practical and accessible introduction to impact investing.
This talk helps audiences understand the difference between grants, investments, loans, guarantees, recoverable grants, donor-advised fund capital, mission-aligned investing, and place-based investing.
The goal is not to overwhelm people with products or jargon. The goal is to help them see the landscape and understand where they might begin.
Best for: foundations, donor groups, boards, community foundations, giving circles, wealth advisors, and new impact investing audiences.
Donor-Advised Funds Can Do More
Donor-advised funds are often used as charitable giving accounts. But they can also become learning vehicles, activation tools, and pathways into deeper impact investing practice.
This talk explores how donor-advised funds can be used to support giving, recoverable grants, impact investments, community capital, education, and learning in public.
Dr. Steph may draw from her experience advising Populus Fund, a donor-advised fund that she is chronicling as a living case study in impact investing, philanthropy, and learning by doing.
Best for: donor-advised fund holders, community foundations, wealth advisors, philanthropic advisors, women’s foundations, family offices, and donor education events.
Community Capital and Place-Based Investing
Capital shapes what gets built, owned, repaired, protected, and imagined in communities.
This talk explores how communities can activate local and regional capital for housing, small business, climate resilience, employee ownership, health, arts, conservation, and community wealth building.
Dr. Steph brings a systems lens shaped by her background in ecology, conservation, finance, and impact investing.
Best for: community foundations, civic leaders, chambers, regional funders, mountain communities, rural communities, economic development leaders, and place-based initiatives.
Giving Circles for Impact Investing
Giving circles help people learn, act, and build confidence together.
This talk explores how impact investing giving circles can help families, friends, women’s networks, donor groups, and community foundations move beyond isolated giving and into shared learning, diligence, and capital activation.
The focus is on building trust, learning together, and helping more people understand how they can donate, lend, invest, guarantee, and support community impact.
Best for: women’s groups, donor circles, next-gen leaders, community foundations, family offices, peer networks, and values-aligned communities.
Women, Wealth, and Capital Activation
Women are increasingly influencing wealth, philanthropy, investing, inheritance, entrepreneurship, and community leadership.
This talk explores how women can use capital as a tool for values, voice, leadership, and systems change — not only through giving, but through investing, advising, convening, guaranteeing, and building new models.
Best for: women’s foundations, women’s leadership networks, wealth events, donor circles, family office gatherings, and next-gen wealth audiences.
Mountain Communities and the Future of Capital
Mountain communities make the relationship between ecology, housing, workforce, tourism, land, climate, wealth, and community resilience visible.
This talk explores what mountain communities can teach the broader impact investing field about place-based capital, interdependence, local ownership, and long-term resilience.
Best for: mountain towns, conservation groups, community foundations, rural leaders, resort communities, climate events, and place-based funders.
Popular Formats
Dr. Steph is available for:
Keynotes
Fireside chats
Conference sessions
Board education sessions
Donor education events
Family office retreats
Community foundation convenings
Giving circle launches
Women’s leadership events
Impact investing workshops
Private salons and curated conversations
Moderated panels
Podcast interviews
What Audiences Take Away
Audiences leave with a clearer understanding of what impact investing is, why it matters, and how they can begin.
They also leave with better questions:
What capital do I influence?
What values should guide that capital?
What tools are available beyond grants?
What does my community need?
Who else should be at the table?
What is one next step I can take?
Dr. Steph’s goal is not only to inspire people.
Her goal is to help people move.
Speaking Style
Dr. Steph’s speaking style is clear, warm, practical, strategic, and energizing.
She brings complex ideas down to earth without oversimplifying them. She uses stories, frameworks, examples, and questions to help people understand how money moves — and how it could move differently.
Her talks are especially effective for mixed audiences where some people are new to impact investing and others are more experienced.
She creates a shared language so everyone can participate.
Sample Talk Titles
Money Can Move Differently
The Investor Is You
Donor-Advised Funds Can Do More
From Wall Street to Main Street
Impact Investing 101: How to Begin
Community Capital for the Places We Love
Giving Circles as Impact Investing Infrastructure
Women, Wealth, and the Future of Capital
What Mountain Communities Can Teach Us About Money
Full Spectrum Capital: Donate, Lend, Invest, Guarantee, and Build
Invite Dr. Steph to Speak
Bring Dr. Steph to your conference, board meeting, donor gathering, retreat, podcast, or community conversation.
She works with audiences that are ready to think differently about money, philanthropy, investing, leadership, and community.
Nothing on this site or in Dr. Steph’s speaking engagements should be interpreted as individualized financial, legal, tax, or investment advice. Speaking engagements are educational and field-building in nature.